the dream team ten

jess stopped in my office this morning, dressed in a mulit-colored knit skirt (reminiscent of anyone's grandmother's afghans), laced-up tan work boots, black tights, a lilac pullover fleece and a bright pink down vest. jess is one of my favorite students. i've known her for 3 years now and have had the pleasure of traveling with her to china, michigan, virginia, and - come spring - russia. she has so many dreams. i wish all of them would come true. hosting her own spanish talk-show or writing a telenovela or marrying a very wealthy indian man or becoming an eastern european techno dancer or a civil rights lawyer or a general do-gooder. if i could do it over, i think i would have liked to be more like jess in high school. her confidence and risk-taking amaze me.

if i were a boy, i think i'd either be the guy from blink 182 with the super whiny voice (remember in the song, "i miss you" when he sings, "where are you? and i'm so sorry. i cannot sleep, i cannot dream tonight"? yeah, it's the most fun to sing along with him) because i have a strong feeling that he pretty much rocks out all the time.

or i'd be jeff buckley singing "satisfied mind." either way, i'd be totally punk rock. i'd let my hair grow out however it wanted. but also, i'd wear pastels. especially because punk boys don't often wear pastels but i wouldn't want to get put in any boxes, so i'd wear pastels. because i can. because no one can tell you pale green and soft sunshine yellow aren't punk.

i'd also grow a really full beard when i got older.

i think punk rockers and hippies speak to my heart in really meaningful ways. if i were the guy from blink 182, or jeff buckley, or my friend jess, i would hang out with people like nelson mandela and india.arie and ani difranco and margaret thatcher and cesar chavez and kevin garnett and bill gates and dave barry and jiang zemin.

i would meet them at my bed & breakfast just north of san francisco or at a vineyard in oregon or somewhere in the redwoods where it would take a scavenger hunt for all of us to find each and meet in the same place.

yes, i would have lots of scavenger hunts. and i would pair everyone up, too. i would go with jiang zemin since i've long wanted to talk with him. and cesar chavez and nelson mandela would go together. and dave barry and ani difranco would go to gether. and india.arie and bill gates would travel ensemble. and finally, margaret thatcher and kevin garnett.

the 10 of us could gather in different locations around the globe, though i would always get to check them out first in order to ensure proper lighting and security.

we would talk about the most important of things, and the silliest of all things. we would do something similar to what laura, erin, jen and i are doing now (sure, sure, copied it from jon, i know) and each person would get to pick a book, a movie, and a cd to share with the group and everytime we met, we would discuss them.

then, we'd talk about our families and our friends and what's going on in our lives. we would be good listeners. because it would be required.

and then we'd discuss issues like labor laws, poverty, healthcare, disarmament, you know, the basics. we'd also discuss religion and economics and love and marriage and what exactly "happiness" means to each of us.

we'd eat 3 meals (it'd be a full day affair) and then we'd end by sharing things we'd learned about each other. and finally, we'd each be given the first clue as to where the next meeting would be held.

talk about a dream team.

to be honest, i wish i could just pick 9 friends and do this once a month with them. something totally crazy that would trump all other plans. something meaningful and community-oriented. something committed.

actually ....